He’s not made the decision soon enough to be included in McCarthy’s first squad since returning as boss of the national team, but the pair spoke after Bamford scored twice for Leeds last weekend.

“My last contact with him was (at the weekend) after they won on Friday night (4-0 against West Brom).

“I just congratulated him on his goals – one was a sublime finish – and just asked him if he still wanted to join us, and he said ‘yes’, and I’m hoping to meet him. So I haven’t given up on it at all.

“If he does, it’s got to be June (when the Republic face Denmark away and host Gibraltar). We’re not going to get it for these games. But I’ve made that clear to him and I’m hoping to see him ASAP.

“I asked him the question, is it still the same, do you still want to join us? ‘Yes’ was the answer. And so then it’s a matter of meeting and having a chat with him. I stressed to him if he wants to be involved in June, we’ll have to get it done as quickly as possible.”

Bamford, who qualifies to play for Ireland through his grandparents, has played for both Ireland and England at underage level.

McCarthy also revealed that he had tried to persuade Daryl Murphy to come out of international retirement.